The Adler Surprise
by Outlites
Summary: Now that Irene is gone, what is her daughter to do? Find her father of course, but where to look and what will she find? Sorry, crappy summary! Hope you like it :
1. Chapter 1

_**Jey guys, Jess here! It has been a while since I have uploaded anything, and I apologize. However, hopefully my strong love for Sherlock Holmes will rekindle my love for writing :) Maybe Ill be able to finish something, with a little positive support from you guys, plus some constructive R&R as well. Love ya :)**_

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not own these lovely characters :( This is just a dream that I was lucky enough to have, so Ill share it with you. I do not own Sherlock, Watson, Mycroft, Irene etc. I dont even own the Brighthearts, they are from my sister, Sodapoplover111...I only own Max, but shes good enough for me.

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><p>Two friends, Amanda Brightheart and Max Adler, were sitting in a little pub outside of London. They were trying to have fun watching the drunken men make fools of them. Some were being thrown to the ground in a fight, while others just fell there on their own. Some of them were hitting on ladies, and failing horrible. It truly was a horrific sight, these men were. However, this event was really a distraction for Max, so she could forget about the mystery that they have just solved.<p>

About three months ago, Max had been staying with Amanda for half of a year. The two girls have been best mates since birth, and she was excited to hear that she would be staying at the Brightheart residence while her mom went away on business. However, after three months of missing her mother terribly, she wakes up to see the beautiful face on the front page of the morning paper. Max was horrified to see that her mother had fallen ill and died of a rare case of tuberculosis. To make matters worse, Irene Adler died in the same restaurant that Max had visited so many times with her beloved mother. It was their favorite. She was so heartbroken and could do nothing but cry.

After attending her mother's funeral, Max made plans to find her "long lost" father. Irene had not told her daughter much about the love of her life, but what Max knew he was a great man. Sherlock Holmes was a great detective and fighter, and although he was not great with romance still somehow swept her off of her feet. However, along with a few great stories, there was a horrible story that had stopped Max from seeking Sherlock out before today. Irene always felt that Holmes was cheating on her. Although it was never confirmed, Max's mother knew it was true. So when she found that she was pregnant, Irene fled town to avoid being dumped by the man she loved. Hearing this, Max hated her father, he hurt Irene, but deep down she knew that if she ever met him, she would love him. He was everything she wanted to be in life, and he _was_ her father after all. Since her mother was no longer here for her, Max set out with her friend to find this mystery man.

Irene had told Max that they had moved far away from Holmes so that he would never find them, so Max left her home in London and started in France, knowing that her mother had lived there before. Along the way, Max and Mandy stowed away on boats, slept in people's sheds (unbeknownst to the owners) and even had to "borrow" some horses to travel easier. Once in France, Max began looking for signs of her father. No one fit Irene's description of him, but it had been almost 15 years since she had last saw him. After getting nowhere on their own, Max and her friend decided to ask others for help; using the very little French that the girls had learned. Most people had never heard of her father, but she finally got a lead from a group of French rebels, that they should head to Switzerland. The two friends stowed away on one last train and headed to the country of Peace with high hopes.

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><p><em><strong>Hey, I know that this is the shortest chapter on the planet, but I promise it will get longer, and more interesting. Any guesses about what the girls will find? R&amp;R :)<strong>_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Wow, two chapters in 2 hours, this has to be a record...well at least for me. This one is longer than the last chapter, but I am still not happy with it. Please let me know what you think :) Enjoy!_**

Disclaimer: I wish I could pronounce these lovely men: Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John Watson, and Mycroft Holmes as my own, but alas...I am not a liar.

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><p>"This is it," Max started as they hopped off the train car just before the station. "Sherlock is going to be here, I'm sure of it!" Mandy rolled her eyes because her friend had said the same thing about France, but she had a feeling about Switzerland too, and just did not want to get Max's hopes up. "Yeah, Yeah" Mandy said, "Now, where do we start looking?" However, the young girl truly did not know. They had gotten lucky in France; they found an answer within two weeks and only traveled to three cities. Now that they were in Switzerland, the girls had to start over.<p>

Since the two girls had traveled on the train illegally they had gotten off before it reached its destination. This left the girls in the middle of the woods, lost and confused. "Let's start with the first town we find?" Amanda suggested, she wanted to start looking right away. First of all, after losing her mom, Max deserved to be happy; and second, this was the greatest adventure of her life so far, and she was eager to see what lie ahead in this new country. Her friend agreed and they walked together for three hours before finding civilization in a small town. The girls found a local park and sat on a bench, making sure they were away from the fountain in the center.

Max was great at finding details in any situation. They decided that a busy area, such as a popular park, would be the best place for her to notice something peculiar. Sitting back, the young girl took in her surroundings. People were walking, jogging, and running past the bench, but Max had no idea what to look for. She hoped to just see her father strolling by, but she had no idea what he looked like. She tried to follow conversations, but the only ones audible were about the weather, or the "Peace Summit", nothing too helpful or out of order. Amanda drags her friend from the area after an hour of no success.

"Come on Max, you have not eaten yet today, and I refuse to let you go hungry." Mandy stated as they made their way down the street to a restaurant a nice lady had pointed them to. Max silently followed, but she had no intentions of eating. How could she eat? Her mother was dead, and her father was so close. Between the depression and anxiety, there was no room for the girl to feel hunger. Instead of focusing on the meal she was about to be force fed, Max decided to take in her surroundings:

_To my right there are three people standing outside an antique book store, 2 women and a man_

_Many others walk by, including a woman with a baby and an old man with a limp in his left leg_

_Someone behind us is talking animatedly about the bloody Peace Summit, "….shooting….died of a heart attack…..two suicides" from the little German I could understand. sounds 'peaceful'_

_To my left there is a newsstand; on the front page of all the papers is a castle like building. Headlines such as "Peace Disaster", "No War, but At What Cost?"_

Mandy was pulled to a stop by her best friend. She turned in time for Max to slip away and run to the news stand. "Max what is it? The Peace Summit, of course it made front page. This _is _Switzerland." She had many times considered whether or not her friend was mad. "Exactly, this is _Switzerland_ the country known for peace. A Peace Summit would not be "news worthy" but an everyday occurrence. Don't you see, this is why Sherlock is here! He's on a case." The young teen talked animatedly as they made their way to the restaurant with a copy of the front page that Max…borrowed.

"I heard there were at least three deaths, two of them being suicides, plus a shooting." Max explained after the waitress took their order.

"Doesn't sound like the atmosphere for peace." Amanda concluded, trying to figure out what Max already knew. "Exactly, so there had to be a reason behind the madness, and I bet that Holmes was there to find out why!" Mandy still had her doubts.

"Remember Adler, your mum did say that he was a vicious fighter too. He was a detective almost two decades ago. We got the lead from rebels who _blow things up_ for fun. What if your dad, wasn't there to solve a case? … What if he was the problem?" Max knew that this was not possible. How could it be? Her mom would never fall in love with a criminal…..right? "Either way Mandy, we are close. He _is here_."

The rest of lunch was eaten in silence. Amanda took the time to write to her own parents, who by now would have noticed she was missing, and Max was too distracted with thought of finding Sherlock Holmes. She was so lost in thought that she actually ate her whole meal, with no fight. After paying the bill, the two girls set off to find the castle that was on the front page of the news papers.

Six hours of trying to communicate with local citizens, Amanda was ready to call it a night. They had not slept well in almost a month, probably longer for Max. "We have been searching _forever_." Amanda whined to her friend, it was the only way to get through to her. She had to show distress in order to change Max's current course of action, or else she will hardly recognize you were there. She was just so _focused_.

"Huh? Oh sorry, Mandy, you're right. Let's call it a night shall we?" Relieved that she had not had to twist an arm to cease the search, Amanda cheerfully walked the extra hour out of town, towards the farmland. Once there, the girls found a barn to rest in for the night.

After settling in, Amanda had a thought that she just had to express to her friend. What if Sherlock was not a part of the Summit? What if he just lived in Switzerland? However, her friend, once again was one step ahead. "Well, Brightheart, I had pondered that too, but it cannot be true. You see, while my mum was infatuated with my dad, she lived close by him. I have also been told that Holmes only went more than five minutes from his house, where ever that may be, if he were on a case. So that being said, he cannot live here because my mother would have hated it, and Sherlock would not have wanted to move. He has to be here on a case."

Hearing no response, Max turned to see that her friend was asleep. Adler could not help but to feel so alone these days. A few months ago, she had the perfect life for a young woman. She had a mother who loved her, and always there for her, the Brighthearts who loved her just as much, and a best friend, Amanda, who had been there every step of the way. Now Irene was dead, the Brighthearts were back in London, and all she had was Amanda. She was truly grateful for her friend's support, but she still felt alone. Mandy did not know what she was feeling, she couldn't understand. Plus, all of this traveling was taking a toll on her friend. Over the last month or so, Amanda had lost quite a bit of weight, her usually neatly groomed hair was greasy and thinner, and she had developed dark purple rings that outlined her eyes. The deep circles were even evident while the girl slept. If they did not find Holmes soon, Max would have to give up. There is no way Mandy would allow her to search on her own, and Adler would refuse to let her best friend to suffer on her behalf. Max was beginning to wonder if she would ever find her father. Right now all she could do is hope that the castle from the paper had her answers.

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><p><em><strong>So, how is it going? GoodBad? Have you figured out what will happen? Let me know! :) ~ Jess**_


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